City Centre

A proper Oxford local — ancient, unpretentious, and owned by St John's College.

Oxford's oldest pub — famous for its tie collection and recently expanded into a larger space.

Where the Inklings met — Tolkien and Lewis's local on St Giles'.

A well-hidden pub, tucked down a medieval alleyway behind the Bodleian.

The world's first university museum — free, with major collections of art and archaeology.

One of the oldest libraries in Europe — the Divinity School, Duke Humfrey's Library, and the Radcliffe Camera.

Dinosaurs, dodos, and Darwin's legacy — all under a Gothic Revival iron-and-glass roof.

A Victorian cabinet of curiosities — shrunken heads, totem poles, and half a million objects from every culture on earth.

The real shop that inspired Tenniel's illustration in Through the Looking-Glass — now selling all things Alice.

The original Ben's Cookies — baked fresh in the Covered Market since 1984, famous far beyond Oxford.

No students, the hardest exam in the world, and Hawksmoor's twin towers

One of Oxford's oldest colleges — plain outside, historically significant inside

Right behind the Radcliffe Camera — an intimate college with a painted chapel ceiling

Oxford's grandest college — part cathedral, part palace, all spectacle

One of Oxford's smallest colleges, with a famous pelican sundial

Tolkien's college, a miniature Sainte-Chapelle, and a hidden view over Radcliffe Square

A modern graduate college wrapped around a Georgian observatory tower

Oxford's mature-student college with notable Pre-Raphaelite stained glass

Home of the Bridge of Sighs — Oxford’s most photographed architectural moment

The Welsh college on Turl Street — quieter than its neighbours, full of character

Victorian polychrome brick — Oxford's most divisive building and a masterpiece painting

Oxford's part-time and continuing education hub — not a tourist destination

An eco-focused graduate college — admirable but not a visitor attraction

A perfectly preserved medieval gem on Turl Street — John Wesley's college

Extensive grounds with a deer park, river walks, and a famous tower

A Nonconformist college with a Gothic Revival chapel and progressive spirit

Oxford's oldest quad, a medieval library, and Tolkien's second home

Medieval cloisters, a stretch of city wall, and a chapel with an El Greco

Oxford's social science powerhouse — architecturally divisive, intellectually formidable

Oxford's oldest royal foundation — seven centuries on a beautiful square

Samuel Johnson's college — quietly handsome, just off St Aldate's

A tiny Baptist hall on St Giles' — small and friendly

A pioneering women's college — alumni include Thatcher, Sayers, and Indira Gandhi

A modernist campus college with a strong access ethos — not a sightseeing stop

Oxford's international affairs college — impressive seminars, not impressive buildings

Designed by Arne Jacobsen — a complete modernist campus with sculpture gardens by the Cherwell

A small graduate college on St Giles' — pleasant but not a visitor destination

The oldest academic hall in any university — 800 years in a tiny quad off Queen's Lane

Oxford's last single-sex college (until 2008), with Cherwell riverside gardens

Oxford's wealthiest college — Canterbury Quad, large gardens, and serious money

A young college on an ancient site — unassuming but well located near the castle

A baroque showpiece on the High Street — Oxford's only fully classical college

Spacious gardens and a Wren chapel on Broad Street — often overlooked

Possibly Oxford's oldest college — Shelley's memorial and a long High Street facade

A well-preserved Jacobean quad, large gardens, and a progressive reputation

A lake, medieval cottages, and large gardens — one of central Oxford's hidden landscapes

Oxford's beating heart since 1774 — over 50 independent stalls under one historic roof.

One of England's oldest schools — strong academics and sport in a less intense setting than the Oxford schools.

Eynsham's secondary — a well-regarded rural comprehensive west of Oxford.

Oxford's choir school — tiny, musical, and tucked behind New College's medieval walls.

A day school for girls in Abingdon — strong academics, partnership with Abingdon School.

A country prep school with a loyal following — rural setting, strong boarding tradition.

Authentic Italian gelato in the Covered Market.

Specialty coffee in a medieval courtyard.

Independent coffee from a horsebox outside the Natural History Museum.

Specialty coffee done with warmth and precision — pour-over and filter in central Oxford.

Bike-themed cafe-bar on St Michael's Street — good coffee by day, cocktails by night.

Oxford's original specialty coffee shop — own-roasted beans on Turl Street.

A beloved Oxford cafe that relocated from its famous Radcliffe Square crypt to King Edward Street in late 2025.

A civilised wine bar hidden down Friars Entry — the name is accurate, the escape from the crowds is real.

A proper pub hiding in plain sight on the High Street — the 15th-century beams are the real deal.

A big riverside pub at Folly Bridge — the terrace over the Thames is the whole point.

Oxford's quintessential student pub — Young's ales on Holywell Street, opposite the Bodleian.

A thatched riverside pub reached via a walk across Port Meadow.

A down-to-earth real ale pub just off the beaten track in St Ebbes.

A tiny Broad Street pub squeezed between Blackwell's and the Bodleian — smaller than some college rooms.

Oxford's board game cafe — over 2,500 games, a bar, and someone on hand to explain the rules.

Tiny, no-frills Japanese canteen on Holywell Street — ramen, donburi, gyoza, and bento boxes.

Rooftop cocktails with a view of the Bodleian spires — Oxford's closest thing to a sky bar.

Grand brasserie in the Old Bank Hotel — High Street people-watching with a menu that covers all bases.

Indian street food and cocktails on Hythe Bridge Street — chaat, grills, thalis, and a full bar.

A social enterprise restaurant on Turl Street — closed in May 2025. Oxford Hub has relocated to Little Clarendon Street.

An Oxford institution since 1879 — Broad Street bookshop with the cavernous Norrington Room below.

Broad Street's independent art supplies shop — paints, papers, and materials for working artists and students.

Loose-leaf teas and freshly roasted coffees in the Covered Market — the smell alone is worth the detour.

A proper traditional butcher in the Covered Market — locally sourced meat, hand-cut to order.

The retail home of the world's largest university press — dictionaries, academic texts, and OUP's full catalogue on the High Street.

Antique maps, prints, and engravings on the High Street — established 1967.

Fine pens, handmade papers, and writing instruments on Turl Street.

The Covered Market's organic grocer — wholefood staples, fresh produce, and zero-waste refills before it was fashionable.

A well-stocked museum shop — jewellery, prints, and design objects inspired by the Ashmolean's collection.

Every type of brush imaginable — a Covered Market institution.

An independent bakery in the Covered Market — honest cakes, pastries, and bakes without the artisan price tag.

A serious cheese counter in the Covered Market — British and European artisan cheeses, cut to order.

Oxford's FE college — vocational courses, apprenticeships, and practical skills training.

Oxford's academic powerhouse — consistently one of the top-performing schools in the country.

West Oxford's secondary — a community comprehensive named after the Victorian poet.